The Gate Thief (Mither Mages) Read Online Free PDF Page A

you might have gatemaking talent, we implanted a little chip just under your jaw. We track it by satellite. We Illyrians are truly godlike in our prescience, don’t you think?”
    It had never crossed Hermia’s mind that they might have installed a tracking device in her body. She had given Danny away every time she used one of his gates.
    Or maybe not. When she made a jump through one of Danny’s gates, it would take time for them to get to where she was. Knowing where she was wasn’t the same thing as being there to observe her.
    But last night they’d had plenty of time to get to Parry McCluer High School.
    “You spent the night here?” asked Hermia.
    “In the Holiday Inn Express,” said Mother. “It has a nice European feel to it.”
    “Meaning that the rooms are tiny and have no space to put your luggage?”
    “We didn’t make ourselves known during the festivities. But we saw some of the Norths challenge you, and watched as a couple of mere Orphans brought old Zog’s eagle down and then cracked open the earth and swallowed up their truck.”
    “They gave it back afterward,” said Hermia. “Or did you fall asleep before the end?”
    “From these actions, we cleverly deduced, in our Aristotelian way, that somebody had passed through a Great Gate. I think it wasn’t you who made the gate, because if you were able to make gates, you would have disappeared the moment I sat down.”
    “No, I can’t make gates. You know I can’t.”
    “I know you have always said you can’t. But now I believe you. Maybe.”
    “I’m not telling you who—”
    “It’s Danny North who’s the gatemage,” said Mother.
    “Don’t you dare lay a hand on him.”
    “No habanero powder in his eyes or up his nose?” asked Mother. “Why must you always spoil my fun?”
    “He’s not just a gatemage, he’s a Gatefather,” said Hermia. “In all the history of the world there’s never been a gatemage like him.”
    “The world has a lot of history. And there are two worlds, for that matter.”
    “He beat the Gate Thief,” said Hermia.
    “Isn’t that nice.”
    “What do you want, Mother?”
    “My darling daughter to tell me she loves me, even if it’s a lie, and to pretend she’s glad to see me.”
    “I’m not reporting to you anymore.”
    “You don’t have to report, as I just explained,” said Mother.
    “Danny and I and the other gatemage—”
    “So you are a gatemage, and not just a Finder.”
    “I’m a Lockfriend,” said Hermia.
    “And the other gatemage? Victoria Von Roth?”
    “A Keyfriend.”
    “How lovely. It’s like you’re twins, born thirty years apart.”
    “The next time Danny makes a Great Gate, we’re going to make sure all the Families and the Orphans have equal access to it.”
    “Even the drowthers?”
    “We aren’t going to let a Great Gate give one Family an advantage.”
    “But you already have, silly girl,” said Mother. “That cow Leslie now has the power to snatch other people’s heartbeasts away from them, and Marion can crack open the earth without causing so much as a three point oh on the Richter scale. They could take down every Family right now.”
    “And yet they haven’t done it,” said Hermia. “Doesn’t that tell you something?”
    “Doesn’t the fact that we didn’t kill you tell you something, too?”
    “It tells me that your hope of getting through a Great Gate is greater than your desire to keep anybody else from getting through it.”
    “It should have told you that we mean to play nice,” said Mother. “We’re going to let you and your boyfriend Danny and his aging mistress Veevee set out the rules, and we’ll play along.”
    “Till you see a way to get an advantage,” said Hermia.
    “Wasn’t it nice of me to come and inform you? Some of us wanted to kill you and then deal with Danny North separately. We would pretend we didn’t know where you were. They’re very angry with you for betraying us.”
    “I didn’t tell him